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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A Snowy Wish

Many people visiting Prescott are surprised to learn that it gets cold here in Arizona!If you want to visit, be sure to bring your sunglasses and mittens.Winter in Prescott is mostly mild, but the snow holds great beauty!It’s just about that time for some frozen precipitation.Most folks who’ve moved to Arizona shudder at the thought of a frosty day, but I’m crossing my fingers for those grey, mysterious clouds to creep over the mountains prepared to give us a show.

Butte Creek in winter (the creek that flows through campus)

“What’s so great about the snow?” some Arizonans grumble.Three reasons – the physical beauty, the much needed precipitation, and the cultural reaction to the event.In town, snow tends to melt within the day or so.Snow sticks around in the surrounding Bradshaw Mountains, accumulating inches on the trails and multiple feet in drifts.Cactus is covered and pine needles are frosted. Those familiar, dusty, hiking trails are transformed into clean, crunchy footpaths.The mountains are veiled in low hanging clouds that threaten to surround you with their icy curtain.The seasonal transformation makes you wonder if you are in Arizona after all.

As an ecologist and naturalist, snow is never an inconvenience.Arizona is dry.We’re in a drought.Winter moisture is a much-needed element to maintaining green forests.Winter moisture is a contributing factor to recharging our severely over-drawn water tables.Plus, seeing the spring snow melt rush down the creeks in a frigid torrent excites the senses and brings a green spring with desert blooms.

When I first came to visit PC, it was in mid-December.The student I stayed with was from Florida, and she had never experienced windshield ice.She didn’t know that those handy plastic ice scrapers even existed.Instead, she went out to her car with a pot full of boiling water and threw it on the ice hoping to melt it… it didn’t work.

We had a light dusting down here over the holiday break, waking up to a frosty ground and low-hanging fog.Though it dissipated by mid-morning, it was the first hint of Arizona’s forgotten season! These pictures are from last winter!

Links We Love

Matt Seats

Competence: Wilderness Leadership (Adventure Education)Breadth: Environmental Studies (Land Management Policy)Favorite Place: I really enjoy Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, but Rum Point in Grand Cayman and the jungles and cloud forests in the Chiriqui region of Panama are pretty amazing too!On My Days Off I Like To: Rock climb, write, bike, hike, kayak and otherwise spend time outdoors.After I Graduate: I hope to split my time between teaching/instructing in the field, working on land management policy research and issues at the Bureau of Land Management (or other land management agency), and guiding international expeditions.

Amanda August

Competence: Human Development

Breadth: Cultural and Regional Studies; Adventure Education

My Favorite Place: Recently I traveled to Seattle and Rainier Nat'l Park and absolutely loved it. I also worked in the Sierra Nevadas last year and can't wait to get back this coming summer and explore more!

On My Days Off I Like To: Hiking/Climbing/Cycling, Check out what's new at the Picture Show, Tinker with projects, Letterboxing, Traveling with friends.

After I Graduate: Continue on to get my Masters, working in Non Profits serving under served Youth, invoking systemic change while promoting experiential education as a basic academic necessity. Canoe the Yukon. Travel South America. Open a brewery. You know, do it all.

Hannah Jean Marshall

Competence: A double competence in Wilderness Leadership with an emphasis in Gender studies, and The Political Economy and Social Justice Favorite place: Where ever I find my adventureOn My Saturdays Off I Like To: See what the day brings...

After I Graduate: I will be a rock star

Ruby Teegarden

Competence: Environmental PolicyBreadth: Music EducationFavorite Place: San Francisco/BerkeleyOn my Saturdays off I like to Read, be in the sun, cook yummy foodAfter I graduate I plan on making our food systems more sustainable, among other things.